14 January 2015, News Wires – Ophir Energy plc has appointed two new regional directors, Dr. John Bell and Dr. Oliver Quinn, with immediate effect.

Ophir Energy

The former is now the company’s director for Asia and the latter is Ophir’s director for Africa and global new ventures.

Both new directors will report directly to the company’s chief operating officer Dr. Bill Higgs, and will be responsible for “maximising the value of the assets and growing Ophir’s footprint in their respective regions”, according to a company statement.

Bell was previously general manager of Ophir’s Thai business having joined the company as part of the acquisition of Salamander Energy in 2015.

He has over 35 years of experience in the global upstream oil and gas business having worked for BP, LASMO and Hess prior to joining Salamander Energy.

Quinn joined Ophir in 2013 and was previously the company’s director of new business. He has over 15 years of industry experience having started his career with Shell before moving to Fairfield Energy and Hess.

Commenting on the appointments, Bill Higgs, chief operating officer of Ophir Energy, said in a company statement: “I am delighted to announce the appointment of John and Oliver to their new roles. By consolidating the regional directors and new business roles we have also been able to reduce costs as we continue to align the business for the current commodity price environment.

“Both John and Oliver are extremely capable individuals with a wealth of experience who are well placed to ensure that we maximise value creation from our assets in their respective regions.”